Nailing machine



March 10, 1936. J. w. ASHLEY NAILING MACHINE Filed Sept. 13, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet l 3, Sheetsf-Sheet 2 Lllll /M/E/vf//F (ESBwb w J W ASHLEY NAILING MACHINE Filed Sept. 13, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Mar. 10, 1936 STATE NAILING MACHINE Application September 13, 1933, Serial No. 689,321

26 Claims.

This invention relates to machines in which such fastenings as nails are delivered from a supply to mechanism which inserts them in the work. It especially concerns heel-attaching machines.

In machines for attaching heels to shoes by nails driven from within said shoes, a Well-known practice is to adjust upon the nail-supporting member or jack the tubes in which the nails are held for driving. In this way, the points of insertion of the nails, or what is termed the nailing design, may be varied to best conform to a particular size of shoe. Such adjusting means may be found in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,269,654, Standish, June 18, 1918. When the nailing mechanism is thus altered, a similar change must be made in the loading mechanism by which the nails are delivered to said nailing mechanism.

An object of my invention is to effect an adjustment of this character in a simple and positive manner, so that when one set of nail-holders of a heel-attaching or similar machine is positioned, an associated set of holders may be correspondingly located. I achieve this object by combining with plural sets of nail-holders, which may be respectively the tubes of a jack and of a cooperating loader-block, novel means common to the plural sets for moving the plural sets of holders. Thus, by a single act on the part of an operator a heel-attaching machine may be arranged for the insertion of nails in accordance with a chosen nailing design. As herein illustrated, means is provided for moving one set of nail-holders, as the tubes of the jack, and connections from this set to an associated set, as those of the loader-block, move the latter, the connections being preferably constantly eiiective throughout the travel of the loader-block when it makes its nail-delivery and then returns to its nail-receiving position. Movement of the loader is consequently not interfered with because of the presence of the connections. The effective length of the connections may be variable to produce agreement between the positions ofthe two sets of holders; and, since the connections best include a iiexible member, a force opposing this movement is preferably applied, as by a spring putting the member under tension so it is required to act in one direction only. This force may also be utilized to move a set of the tubes. The form ofthe invention which I have chosen to show herein includes sets of movable nail-holding tubes at the jack and traveling loader-block of a heel-attaching machine, a movable positioning member for each set of tubes, and connections including a flexible member for transmitting the movement of one positioning member to the other. The exible member is enclosed in a sheath, the compound cable thus formed permitting the longitudinal transmission of the tube-adjusting force through varying curved paths. Coupling members are shown for joining the cable to the positioning member of the loader-block-tubes without interference with the travel of the block, one of these members being movable with the block and another transversely of the path of said block. To the latter may be joined the tensioning spring for tensioning the cable. Adjustable connections at the ends of the cable serve toallow the effective length of the connections to be changed, so that settings of the two sets of tubes may be made to coincide.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a heelattaching machine in which one form of the present invention is included;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged top plan view of the nailloading mechanism of the machine;

Fig. 3, a similar view of the jack;

Fig. 4, a front elevation of the loading mechanism;

Fig. 5, a broken side elevation thereof;

Fig. 6, a vertical transverse section on the line VI-VI of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7, a broken detail in side elevation of one of the tubes of the loader-block.

At the front of a frame I0, a shoe-supporting jack I2 is mounted, this jack containing a reciprocatory plunger I4. The plunger has at its upper extremity nail-drivers I 6 operating in tubes I8, these tubes holding the heel-attaching nails resting upon the ends of the drivers. The tubes are adjustable to different nailing designs, the means for accomplishing this being generally as disclosed in the previously mentioned Standish patent. Save as to certain particulars which will later be indicated, it Will be suiiicient to say that spaced plates 20, 20 have vertically alined slots 22, through which the tubes extend, there being tube-flanges between the plates. Movable from front to rear of the jack by a screw 24 is a position-controlling plate 26 in which are cam-slots 28 crossing the slots 22. Movement of the plate 26 forces the tubes I8 in or out along paths in which may be found the points of insertion of the nails for all designs to be employed.

At 30 appears the lower portions of tubes through which a distributor supplies loads of nails, governed as to their delivery by a shutter 32 sliding upon a foot-plate 34 in which the tubes terminate (Fig. 4). When freed by the shutter, the nails are received from the foot-plate-openings by a block 36 of a reciprocatory loader 38, this block being movable from a nail-receiving position beneath the foot-plate to a nail-delivering position over the jack. Neither the manner of supplying the nails from the distributor nor the production of movement of the block enters into this invention, and they will not be further referred to.

The loader-block 36 I provide with nail-holding tubes 40 variable in position in a manner similar to the arrangement at the jack. That is, the body of the loader-block carries fixed plates 42, 42 with pairs of alined slots 44 (Fig. 2) while a lower plate 46 has tube-positioning cam-slots 48. .The tubes pass through the slots and have flanges 52 between the fixed plates and enlarged heads 54 above the upper plate 42. Since the foot-plate delivery-openings are xed in position, the tubes 40 are preferably provided with upwardly and outwardly aring throats 55, as is particularly shown in Fig. 7, to permit the tubes to properly receive the nails for all adjustments. A conventional shutter 56, oscillating beneath the lower ends of the tubes 40, may support the nails delivered by the tubes 30 until released, when the loader-block is over the jack and a spring 58 is allowed to swing the shutter clear of the tube-openings. When leaving the jack, the shutter is reset and latched in nailsupporting relation. At its forwardextremity, the cam-plate 46 has a transverse contact-portion 60 lying in the divided and slotted end of the depending arm 62 on a bell-crank-lever 64. This lever is fulcrumed upon lugs 66 rising from the body of the block and its upper arm is pivoted at 68 to a rod 10. 'Ihe rod passes through a horizontal bore in the laterally extended portion 12 of a slide 14 movablevertically, or transversely of the path of the loader, in ways 16 upon the frame (Fig. `2). At the bottom of the slide is a perforated lug 18 through which passes a vertical screw 80 provided with check-nuts 82. To the lower end of the screw is joined the inner exible member 84 of such a connecting device as a Bowden cable. Though the member 84 is shown as stranded, it may be of solid wire. This inner member passes through a guiding sheath 8 6 of the cable, which sheath may be connected by clips 88 to the frame I0 and to the jack l2 to lie along a gradually curved path. At its forward extremity, the inner cable member may be joined by a screw 90, shown as adjustably supported similarly to the screw 80, to a sleeve 92 trunnioned upon the substantially horizontal arm of a bell-crank-lever 94, fulcrumed on the jack and having an arm forked to engage a contact-piece 96 carried by the cam-plate 26 below the adjusting screw 24. By the cable, the tubepositioning movement of the cam-plate 26 is communicated to the like plate 46 of the loaderblock. A spring |00 is connected at its upper end to the frame l0 and at the lower end to the slide 14. Through thevslide, the rod 'l0 and the lever 64, the spring exerts a force tending constantly to move the cam-plate 46 to the right (Fig. 1). 'I'his tendency is resisted by the cable member 84, which is placed under tension. Therefore, the cable is required itself to exert only tension, for which it is most eiective. When the screw 24 is turnedclockwise, viewed as one faces the front of the` machine, the plate 26 will be drawn forward, and its slots 28, co-operating with the slots 22 in the fixed plates, will cam out or expand the tubes I8 to enlarge the nailing design. By the lever 94 and the cable member 84 the slide 14 is simultaneously lowered. Opposite rotation of the screw shifts the plate 26 rearwardly to give a smaller nailing design. This allows the spring |00 to elevate the slide. As the slide moves up or down under the influence of the spring |00 or screw 24, it similarly moves the rod 'l0 which acts with it to couple the cable in a constantly effective chain to the lever` 64 and cam-plate 46 of the loader mechanism. As the screw 24 draws down the slide, descent of the two coupling elements turns the lever 64 clockwise (Fig. 1), advancing the plate 62 and separating the tubes 40, this corresponding to what is taking place at the jack. When the screw permits the spring to act, it produces 0pposite movement of the tubes 40. A proper design of the controlling means and connections will cause the extent and direction of the movement of the jack-tubes and loader-block-tubes to be identical, so for all nailing designs the latter tubes will exactly register with the former when the loader-block advances over the jack to make its delivery of nails. To obtain this registration initially, effective length of the connections between the two cam-plates 26 and 62 may be altered by adjusting one or both of the screws and 90. This will shift the plate at the loader- 9 block without disturbing that at the jack.

It should particularly be noted that, by my improved organization, the operator is enabled to make two nailing-design-adjustments with no greater effort than has previously been required -f` for one, and that the connecting means between the nail-holding tubes will act positively through even a relatively circuitous path without interfering with the travel of the loader and without the use of complicated mechanism.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a nailing machine, plural sets of movable nail-holders one of which receives nails and retains them against movement in preparation for transfer to the other, and means common to the plural sets and arranged to controlv the movement of the holders of plural sets.

l 2. In a nailing machine, plural sets of movable nail-holders one of which delivers to the other, means common to the plural sets and arranged to control the movement of the holders of plural sets, and means other than the common means for moving a set of the holders bodily between nail-receiving and nail-delivering positions.

3. In a nailing machine, nailing mechanism provided with a set of movable nail-holders, nailsupplying mechanism having a set of movable nail-holders, means arranged to move one set of holders only, and constantly effective connections between the set thus moved and the associated set for moving the latter.

4. In a nailing machine, nailing mechanism provided with a set of movable nail-holders, nailsupplying mechanism having a set of movable nail-holders, means arranged to move one set of holders, connections between the set thus moved and the associated set for moving the latter, and means for applying to the connections a force opposing the moving means.

5. In a mailing machine, nailing mechanism I provided with nail-holders movable relatively to one another to correspond to different nailing CTX.

designs, means actuated by an operator for moving the holders, loading mechanism delivering to the nailing mechanism and having movable nailholders, and actuating connections between the moving means and the holders of the loading mechanism.

6. In a nailing machine, nailing mechanism provided with nail-holders movable relatively to one another to correspond to different nailing designs, means actuated by an operator for moving the holders, loading mechanism delivering to the nailing mechanism and having movable nailholders, actuating connections between the moving means and the holders of the loading mechanism, and means arranged to vary the effective length of the connections.

7. In a heel-attaching machine, a jack provided with movable nail-tubes, a traveling loader-block having a set of movable nail-tubes, means arranged to move one of the sets of tubes, and connections thereto for producing simultaneously therewith corresponding movement of the other set of tubes.

8. In a heel-attaching machine, a jack provided With movable nail-tubes, a traveling loaderblock having a set of movable nail-tubes, means arranged to move one of the sets of tubes, and connections thereto for producing corresponding movement of the other set of tubes, said moving means and connections being eiective in all positions of travel of the loader-block.

9. In a heel-attaching machine, a jack provided With movable nail-tubes, a traveling loaderblock having a set of movable nail-tubes, a movable controlling member for each set of tubes, and means for transmitting the movement of one controlling member to the other.

l0. I n a nailing machine, a set of traveling nail-holding tubes, the tubes of the set being movable to correspond to different nailing designs, a controlling member by which the tubes are thus moved relatively to one another, and a exible member connected to the controlling member to effect its movement.

11. In a nailing machine, a set of traveling nail-holding tubes, the tubes of the set being movable to correspond to diierent nailing designs, a controlling member by which the tubes are thus moved relatively to one another, a flexible member connected to the controlling member to eect its movement, and a sheath surrounding -the exible member.

12. In a nailing machine, plural sets of movable nail-tubes, and a exible member for transmitting movement of one set of tubes to another set.

13. In a nailing machine, plural sets of movable nail-tubes, a flexible member for transmitting movement of one set of tubes to another set, and a spring for moving such second set of tubes.

14. In a nailing machine, plural sets of movable nail-tubes one of which travels toward and from the other for delivering nails thereto, a movable controlling member for each set of tubes, a exible member joined to the controlling member of the receiving tubes, and two coupling members movable in intersecting paths, one of the coupling members being movable by the iiexible member and the other movable with the controlling member of the delivery-tubes.

15. In a nailing machine, a set of traveling nail-holding tubes, the tubes of the set being movable to correspond to different nailing designs, a controlling member by which the tubes are thus moved relativelyto one anothena'exible member connected to the controlling member to eiect its movement, and means for maintaining the flexible member under tension.

16. In a nailing machine, a set of traveling nail-holding tubes, the tubes of the set vbeing movable to correspond to different nailing designs, a controlling member by which the tubes are thus moved relatively to one another, a flexible member connected to the controlling member to eiect its movement, and means arranged to vary the eiective length of the connections.

17. In a heel-attaching machine, a jack provided with nail-receiving tubes movable therein, a reciprocatory loader-block having tubes movable upon it and delivering to the jack-tubes, slotted plates movable upon the jack and loaderblock respectively for positioning the tubes, and actuating connections including a cable between the plates.-

18. In a heel-attaching machine, a jack provided with nail-receiving tubes movable therein, a reciprocatory loader-block having tubes movable upon it and delivering to the jack-tubes, slotted plates movable upon the jack and loader-block respectively for positioning the tubes, actuating connections including a cable between the plates, and means for adjustably joining an end of the cable to the connections.

19. In a heel-attaching machine, a jack problock respectively for positioning the tubes, a

lever fulcrumed upon the jack and being movable by its plate, and a cable movable by the lever and connected to the loader-block-plate to communicate movement thereto.

20. In a heel-attaching machine, a jack provided with nail-receiving tubes movable therein, a reciprocatory loader-block having tubes movable upon it and delivering to the jack-tubes, slotted plates movable upon the jack and loader-block respectively for positioning the tubes, a lever fulcrumed upon the jack and being movable by its plate, a cable movable by the lever and connected to the loader-block-plate to communicate movement thereto, and a spring exerting tension upon the cable.

21. In a heel-attaching machine, a frame, a jack mounted upon the frame and provided with movable nail-receiving tubes, a loader-block reciprocating upon the frame and having tubes movable upon it and delivering to the jack-tubes, tube-positioning members movable upon the jack and loader-block respectively, and movementtransmitting connections including a cable between the positioning members, said cable including a sheath attached to the jack and frame.

22. In a heel-attaching machine, a frame, a jack mounted upon the frame and provided with movable nail-receiving tubes, a loader-block reciprocating upon the frame and having tubes movable upon it and delivering to the jack-tubes, tube-positioning members movable upon the jack and loader-block respectively, a coupling member reciprocating upon the frame transversely of the path of the loader-block, a second coupling member movable through that iirst mentioned and joined to the tube-positioning member of the loader-block, and a movement-transmitting cable connected to the tubepositioning member of the jack and to the rstmentioned coupling member.

23. Inca heel-attaching machine, a frame, a jack mounted upon the frame and provided with movable nail-receiving tubes, a loader-block reciprocating upon the frame and having tubes movable upon it and delivering to the jack-tubes, tube-positioning members movable upon the jack and loader-block respectively, a slide movable upon the frame transversely of the path of the loader-block and provided with an opening, a rod extending through the opening and being movable with the loader-block, and connections to the tube-positioning member of the jack for moving the slide.

24. In a heel-attaching machine, a frame, a jack mounted upon the frame and provided with movable nail-receiving tubes, a loader-block reciprocating upon the frame and having tubes movable upon it and delivering to the jack-tubes,

tube-positioning members movable upon the jack and loader-block respectively, a lever fulcrumed upon the jack and movable by the positioning member thereof, a slide movable upon the frame transversely of the path of the loader-block and provided with an opening, a rod extending through the opening, a lever fulcrumed upon the loader-block and joined to the rod and to the positioning member of the loader-block, and a movement-transmitting cable connecting the jack-lever and the slide.

25. In a heel-attaching machine, a frame, a jack mounted upon the frame and provided with movable nail-receiving tubes, a loader-block reciprocating upon the frame and having tubes movable upon it and delivering to the jack-tubes, tube-positioning members movable upon the jack and loader-block respectively, a lever fulcrumed upon the jack and movable by the positioning member thereof, a slide movable upon the frame transversely of the path of the loader-block and provided with an opening, a rod extending through the opening, a lever ful'crumed upon the loader-block and joined to the rod and to the positioning member of the loader-block, a movement-transmitting cable connecting the jacklever andthe slide, and a spring connected to the slide and exerting tension upon the cable.

26. In a heel-attaching machine, a frame, a jack mounted upon the frame and provided with movable nail-receiving tubes, a loader-block reciprocating upon the frame and having tubes movable upon it and delivering to the jack-tubes, tube-positioning members movable upon the jack and loader-block respectively, a lever fulcrumed upon the jack and movable by the positioning member thereof, a slide movable upon the frame transversely of the path of the loader-block and provided with an opening, a rod extending through the opening, a lever fulcrumed upon the loader-'block and joined to the rod and to the positioning member of the loader-block, a movement-transmitting cable extending between the jack-lever and the slide, and adjustable connections for the ends of the cable. Y i JOHN W. ASHLEY. 

